How Vietnam’s tourism ‘recovered strongly’ in the first 6 months of the year

According to the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), economic and political instability such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Hamas-Israel conflict and climate change continue to be significant challenges for the world tourism industry in the coming time. Tourism competition between countries in the region is increasingly fierce, in which the tools used by many countries are visa policies and promotional programs to attract visitors.

In Vietnam, the tourism results in the first 6 months of the year were assessed by the National Tourism Administration as “recovering strongly”, especially the international tourist market. In the first 6 months of the year, the total number of international visitors reached more than 8.8 million; an increase of nearly 60% over the same period in 2023 and an increase of more than 4% over 2019. Regarding domestic visitors, Vietnam served more than 66.5 million in the first 6 months. Total tourism revenue in the first two quarters of the year is estimated at VND 436,500 billion, an increase of 1.3 times over the same period last year and 2019.

To anticipate the peak domestic tourism season, since April, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has launched a domestic tourism stimulus program “Vietnamese people travel to Vietnam – Vietnam I love”. In response, many businesses and localities have launched product packages and organized events such as Ninh Binh Tourism Week; 4-5 star hotels in Hanoi have simultaneously reduced prices to attract local visitors to stay on weekends. Thanks to these activities, the number of domestic visitors has increased steadily every month.

Despite being in the international low season, the number of international visitors in June still reached 1.2 million, an increase of more than 5% over the same period in 2019.

“This is a positive signal for the international tourism market,” according to the Department of Tourism.

South Korea and China are the two largest markets sending visitors to Vietnam, accounting for more than 47% of the market share. Of which, South Korea ranks first with more than 2.2 million visitors, accounting for nearly 26%, and China accounts for more than 21% of the market share. The next markets sending visitors include Taiwan, the US, Japan, and Malaysia.

Major markets in Northeast Asia were the main drivers of the recovery in international arrivals in the first half of the year. The number of visitors from China increased by nearly 230%, South Korea by 42%, Japan by 39%, and Taiwan by 96% compared to the same period in 2023.

Markets in Southeast Asia are also the driving force for Vietnam’s tourism recovery, with the number of Indonesian visitors increasing by 116% this year, the Philippines by 57%, Laos by nearly 20%, Cambodia by 17%, Malaysia by 9%, and Singapore by 9.8% compared to the same period last year. India is considered by the National Tourism Administration as “a good growth market”. The Thai market alone decreased by nearly 15% compared to the same period last year.

Visitors from the European market are also assessed to have “vibrant growth”. Of which, the UK market increased by 29%, Germany increased by 32%, France increased by 37%, Italy increased by 67%, Spain increased by 43%, Russia increased by 75%, Denmark increased by 33%. These are all markets that enjoy a unilateral visa exemption policy for entry into Vietnam with a temporary stay of up to 45 days, effective from August 15, 2023.

Also in the first half of the year, Vietnam tourism was honored by international media in many categories such as the safest country in the world to visit in 2024; Hanoi is the most attractive culinary destination; Vietnamese Pho ranked second in the top 20 best dishes in the world or Ho Chi Minh City in the top 10 most worth-traveling Asian cities.

With the achievements in the first 6 months of the year and many stimulus and promotion programs, tourism experts believe that Vietnam will fully recover to pre-pandemic levels this year and reach 25-28 million international visitors in 2025.